Japanese diet today has been Westernized, and high-fat and high-energy diets tend to be preferred. As a result, unhealthy conditions such as obesity may be incurred. In addition, with alcohol drinking, stresses, or the like serving as a trigger, increase in the uric acid level in a body has been incurred.
Normally, in a healthy condition, much of uric acid is excreted from the body together with urine, sweat, feces, or the like. Meanwhile, if uric acid is excessively synthesized by the influence of the above-described diet and living environment but is not excreted properly, the amount of uric acid in the blood becomes excessive. Such a state of exceeding the saturation solubility (7.0 mg/dL) of uric acid in the blood is hyperuricemia.
In hyperuricemia in which a high blood uric acid level is continued, sodium urate crystals start to precipitate in body tissues. Since the crystals are likely to form at a part where the body temperature is low, the crystals are often deposited in legs and earlobes. Uric acid crystals precipitate in the base of a big toe or the joint of a knee where the crystal deposition is most likely to occur. This may cause inflammation with acute pain (gouty attack). Meanwhile, if a stone is formed in the renal tubule, this may cause a kidney disorder.
Taurine (aminoethylsulfonic acid) is a sulfur-containing amino acid having a quite simple chemical structure with a molecular weight of 125.15. The pharmacological action is known to cover a wide range including the central nervous system, the circulatory system, and the liver/gallbladder system. Particularly, it has been revealed that taurine has a serum cholesterol-lowering action. The main mechanism of the action is thought to be the action of promoting cholesterol catabolism and excretion from the liver (see Non Patent Literatures 1 to 4). Meanwhile, taurine-containing preparations have been sold for a long period in the fields of prescription drugs and also nonprescription drugs and quasi drugs. In Japan, 50 years are about to elapse after the first taurine-containing preparation was sold. Thus, the actual performance of taurine itself is sufficient. It can be said that taurine is one of quite highly safe components.